


among humans and immortals

by akaeijis



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Historical Hetalia, Historical References, Multi, WILL still be inaccurate though this is a work of fiction, focuses sorta maybe on all countries even a little but it starts w china, this is me missing hetalia but also missing history, will add characters and relationships as updated
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 05:19:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19457167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akaeijis/pseuds/akaeijis
Summary: vignettes of the nations throughout time.





	among humans and immortals

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: this is a historical based piece and is my interpretation of aph and history but its still fiction im sadly not that well-versed in history which is why it may be inaccurate.

i. [中國; _zhōngguó;_ ‘middle, center, within’ ‘country, state, nation’]  
  


 _I am Zhōngguó,_ is all he knows, _I am Zhōngguó,_ becomes his mantra. 

He’s a baby, founded in the Yellow Emperor's backyard. Or maybe he himself was the Yellow Emperor. Their story has been intertwined for centuries, to the point that they are essentially one and the same being. The beings around him feel his power as well, as he, Zhōngguó, the country, the being, the person, grows and grows and grows. 

He continues to mutter, _I am Zhōngguó,_ to himself _;_ because after centuries, centuries of war and changes, that is still all he knows and that is all he is. 

He feels the earth beneath him, strong and stable. He feels the heartbeat of all the people that share this identity, the identity of being part of him. Yellow is the color of the earth. Yellow is his favorite color. 

The people around him give him the last name of Wáng. They think he was given the mandate of heaven, just like those before him. 

_I am Zhōngguó,_ he says and he adds, _and all of Zhōngguó is me_. 

ii. [朝鮮; _cháoxiǎn;_ ‘morning, to face’ ‘fresh, calm, clear’]

Almost a thousand years later, he meets _Cháoxiǎn_ for the first time. They find her in the east, where the dew starts to form first as the new day arises. Her clothing is a stark white compared to his, the only sign of any prestige (in his eyes) is a blue tassel attached to her skirts. 

Fitting, as blue symbolized the east. 

When she says her name, it sounds very open in a way his ears are not familiar with behind palace walls. He thinks it sounds very much like how the northern tribes may sound sometimes, but it’s still different. Her name suits her as well. 

He feels a bit self-conscious in his vibrant black and red clothing, decorated in all sorts of jade ornaments. They used to adorn him in yellow, but they have stripped that away from him and it’s reserved solely for the emperor. In this dynasty, he isn’t allowed the pleasure of yellow. 

He decides that her eyes are very pretty. 

-

After that, the visits become plentiful. 

It’s mostly at Cháoxiǎn’s house. She shows him the mountain where her god of heaven descended, but she giggles and whispers in his ear, that she thinks she was also born of this mountain. She rambles on, saying that she thinks beings such as them are forever meant to be intertwined with the gods of their land. 

He asks her why Cháoxiǎn wears white (still feeling stiff in his own silks) and she says they wear white as it is the color of the heavens and her people. As they walk around the gardens, he finds a cluster of magnolia which he places in her hair. It’s a white flower with a yellow center. He decides that he likes it on her and that he likes Cháoxiǎn. So he kisses her cheek. She waves her hand at him, in faux disapproval, saying, _excuse me, I am at least 300 years older than you,_ in a language he has slowly begun to pick up _._ But she laughs and he thinks of the birds that sing when morning comes. 

Centuries go by, her and her people still wear white but after trading and opening of borders they have begun to dye their fabrics in brighter colors. The plum blossoms are appearing, a sign of spring, and she braids his hair with the flowers and she hopes that the magnolias and hibiscus grow well this new year. He notices her new, bright yellow dress and smiles. It is his favorite color after all.   
  


iii. 

Through his travels, he finds _Hēung Góng_ first and names him after the sweet scent of the coast. Then _Àomén_ , for the two gate-like mountains. _Nányuè_ , for being south of him. He brings them all into his house and his boss is very pleased. And sometimes he gets to see Cháoxiǎn, to play with her hair and kiss her again and again and again. 

(It’s times like these when he wonders how humans feel.) 

Then the visits to the east become uncommon, Zhōngguó tells himself not to worry, after all, he’s lived for a thousand years and so has she and they will both live for a thousand years more. Wars, famine, rebellions never change them as they are so intrinsically tried to their people. The next visit will not be in the near future, his boss suggests. In this long life, he’s learned what patience is. And after all, a few years is nothing. 

He hopes that Cháoxiǎn can one day live with him as his home continues to grow. 

iv.

The next time he sees Cháoxiǎn ( _cháoxiǎncháoxiǎnjoseonjoseon, the names mix and he’s not sure who_ ) is in her palace. There is a military campaign, Zhōngguó isn’t quite sure why. But he is Zhōngguó and Zhōngguó is him, so he joined with his favorite sword and vibrant clothing. This time, he wears red, the color of fire and the current Han dynasty. 

Outside, humans are handling their own agenda. He can almost smell the blood, may it be from civilians or officials or soldiers, he isn’t sure. But it’s not unfamiliar, for the life that he has lived he knows one thing for sure: that humans have a penchant for being cruel. 

She’s in her gardens again, a place of sanctuary for beings such as them; gardens never seem to be touched by the wickedness of humanity and time passes as slow as them. However, it is spring. The plum blossoms have fallen and magnolias are blooming. 

She’s wearing white. 

“Cháoxiǎn,” he breathes, footsteps careful and gentle as he walks towards her. The bushes bristle and he can see toddlers between the gaps. They too, wear white. 

Cháoxiǎn smiles, “it seems as if they are yours for now.” 

He doesn’t know what to say, in all of his years as Zhōngguó, he hasn’t seen beings such as him leave. He’s lived for millennia and she has been there, to the east, always. Everything that happened, every moment, every memory, he feels and feels and _plumblossomsmagnoliahibiscuswhiteyellow_ into nothing. He is Zhōngguó, he is the yellow dragon, the middle kingdom, the blood of the yellow emperor, the merchant down the street, the father fishing in the pond, he is _Zhōngguó_ , he is Wang Yao. 

He is everything, the center of the universe, and still cannot stop this. 

Cháoxiǎn reaches out to him and takes out a small knife and there’s a small nick on his right palm. “Something to remember me by,” and she kisses him and then she is gone. 

He brings the two kids into his house. 

Human beings can be so cruel. 

v.

He is still grounded in the center and he is still Zhōngguó and there is still so much more to do. 

He finds a little boy in the forests as he sets foot on a new island. He brings the boy home and the boy is very small, so he calls him _Wa_. 

His house is much fuller. 

* * *

*Zhōngguó [中國] translates roughly to 'Middle Kingdom' which is (roughly) what China would refer to itself at this time. It is also what modern-day China uses to refer to itself. 

*Joseon/Cháoxiǎn [朝鮮] translates roughly to 'morning calm'. This is an old Korean peninsula kingdom which was later turned into a commandery by the Han Dynasty in China before becoming independent kingdoms around the three kingdom period. 

*China's legendary beginnings start around 2070 BC while Joseon starts around 2333 BC, making her 300 years older. The two kids (Koreas) I think would be in and out of China’s house

*Hēung Góng [香港] is Hong Kong. Loosely translating to 'fragrant harbor’. Àomén [ 澳門] is Macau, translating to ‘Inlet gates’. Nányuè [南越] is Vietnam, translating to ‘South Viet’.  Wa [倭] is Japan, meaning ‘dwarf’. 

**Author's Note:**

> hcs: i just see the nations calling themselves whatever they saw themselves, and for many of Asia’s countries, were named after how China saw them. nations heal fast but they have specific scars that they choose to keep / momental for them. I like to see francis as having a lot of neck scars.
> 
> sorry that was a lot of history! i feel like this is for me just to be self-indulgent and geek out lol ofc not all of it is accurate it is my perspective on history and how aph can tie into it 
> 
> twt @ akaeijis! hmu w some good historical or or not historical content!


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